Our blog began as a journal of our decision to take a life changing journey by living in Panama, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Mexico. In December, 2013, we made the final decision to live in Puerto Vallarta, MX, where we have resided since. So now the blog is a monthly posting of our monthly expenditures with dialogue of some of the monthly highlights. Please continue to follow along as this journey keeps unfolding!

Monday, May 1, 2017

So, as we begin the New Year of 2017, a brief explanation for any new folks that might be reading this blog. Mike & I decided to call Puerto Vallarta, MX our home after living in 5 other Latin American countries and 11 towns/villages. (You can read all about our journey by going to the Archives listed on the bottom right of the blog page.) It's now been 3 full years, as of December 15, 2016.

The posted budget/expenditures are for 2 people and are reflected in US Dollars, since that's the method we get paid in. I did change some of the line items around this year such as, I moved our health insurance coverage up into the Living Expenses. If you won't need this line item in your budget, just deduct it.

Our rent is actually a reduced amount from the original $1,000/month we initially began paying. Over time, we have been doing some of the property management and coordination with our mozo (property caretaker), so our landlord's were gracious enough to reduce our rent to $800/month to show their appreciation for our efforts.

Our condo is in a small 5 unit building at the end of a dead end street across from the Tropicana Hotel only one short block from the beach in Old Town on the south side. We have 1,200sf (including our small front terrace & back patio/workshop/laundry area), 1br/1ba, fully furnished, modern, with a terrace peak a boo view of the bay. There is no elevator, 50 steps to our front door, and a rooftop dipping pool, entertainment, sunning area with beautiful views of the bay. All utilities except electric are included in our rent (water, gas, TV, & internet)

January was a busy month with theater openings (I was asked to continue doing some marketing for both Act II & The Palm), so I receive free tickets in return. We continue to meet with people who want to consider PV as a place to retire. Linda Ellerbee (yes, the well renown journalist) and I organized a Women's Gathering (no march) here in PV in only 4 days. We had 500+ people in attendance and we were thrilled!

February saw high season hit with a vengeance! Several friends in from out of town, which of course means, we get to be on vacation with them. So more times out for meals & drinks, entertainment, & visits all over the Bay to show off our beautiful piece of heaven.

March was spent with family & friends who visited; meaning a few extra shows/excursions/meals out than normal for us. We also addressed some nagging aches & pains that come along with walking daily on cobblestone streets in Old Town. Our refrigerator ice maker was repaired & we purchased a new all-in-one scanner/copier/printer. This was also the month that the pesos gained on the US dollar, so we lost a bit of purchasing power. All in all, a very good month!

April was a month of saying goodbyes to those headed back north for the summer. Our weather continued to stay absolutely beautiful but warmed up enough to get back into our pool. 3 units in our building have sold & are due to close in May/June. This only leaves our unit unsold. Our lease continues for another year. We'll see how this goes.

Living
Expenses:

January

February

March

April

Rent w/util

$ 800

$ 800

$ 800

$ 800

Electric

$ 10

$ 8

$ 12

$ 19

Cell Phone

$ 22

$ 22

$ 22

$ 22

Groceries

$ 187

$ 182

$ 128

$ 341

Meals Out

$ 288

$ 490

$ 521

$ 358

Drinks Only

$ 112

$ 243

$ 217

$ 113

Entertainment

$ 178

$ 167

Massages

$ 37

$ 25

$ 49

Bus/Taxi

$ 47

$ 45

$ 16

$ 5

Dental Cleaning

Incidentals

$ 48

$ 100

$ 50

$ 111

Medical Insurance

$ 328

$ 328

$ 328

$ 328

TOTAL

$ 1,879

$ 2,396

$ 2,286

$ 2,146

TOTAL W/O RENT

$ 1,079

$ 1,596

$ 1,486

$ 1,346

Discr Spending:

Clothes/Shoes/Gifts

$ 24

$ 12

$ 51

Tours

$ 210

Home Improve

$ 104

$ 39

$ 255

Medical

$ 100

$ 139

$ 176

$ 25

Dental

Trips/Vacations

$ 80

TOTAL Discr.

$ 438

$ 190

$ 431

$ 156

TOTAL ALL

$ 2,317

$ 2,586

$ 2,717

$ 2,302

* Meals Out: Jan 13x; Feb 19x; Mar 25x; April 16x
* Drinks Only: Jan 10x; Feb 16x; Mar 14x; April 10x
* Trips/Tours:
January: We took a whale watching/Mariettas Hidden Beach boat trip with friends on the Bruna, owned by Ada Sailing.
April: We took a photography outing with 12 other friends up to San Sebastian del Oeste in the Sierra mountains and had a fabulous day!